Most of us know the hymn, ‘When peace like a river’.  A lawyer from Chicago wrote it in the 19^th century.  He had sent his wife and four daughters on a holiday to Europe by ship, and he would catch up later.  Their vessel was struck by an English ship halfway across the Atlantic.  His four daughters drowned while his wife was saved.  Overwhelmed with grief he wrote the words of the hymn, ‘When peace like a river, flows all through my life, when sorrows like sea billows roll: whatever my lot, you have taught me to say: it is well, it is well with my soul.’  That is a peace within, a peace that passes all reasonable attempts to understand it.  Only the Spirit can give that peace to us, to have that hope and serenity.

The third fruit of the Spirit, after ‘love’ and ‘joy’, is ‘peace’.  The biblical word is ‘shalom’.  The Reformed theologian Neil Plantinga says shalom is ‘…the webbing together of God, humans and all creation in justice, fulfilment, and delight... It means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight, a rich state of affairs ...that inspires joyful wonder as our Creator and Saviour opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.  Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.’  Augustine defined peace as the ‘tranquillity of order’.  He means there is peace when everything is in order.  When our relationships are in order, when all things and creatures are treated or used as God intended, then there is tranquillity.  The Greek word for peace means ‘inner wellbeing’.  It literally means to bind or weave together.  It means that one person is joined together with another, or more importantly, joined with God.  Peace can be defined as ‘inner calm, even in the midst of turmoil.’

So, peace as a fruit of the Spirit refers to ‘peace with God, peace of God’ and ‘peace with one another.’

‘Peace with God’ has the sense the of ‘order, or harmony’.  When we look at creation, we see there is order.  Sunrise and sunset are entirely predictable.  So are the tides.  But there is also now disharmony.  All creation is cursed because of human sin.  But through Jesus there is hope for shalom for the entire creation.  Paul writes that Jesus ‘…is himself our peace.’  There is a sticker that reads, ‘No Jesus, No peace’.  Underneath that are the words, ‘Know Jesus, Know peace.’  The sense of foreboding and hopeless gloom is gone.  Nothing can change that, for our peace is not in us and in what we do.  It is in Jesus.  He is our peace.  With the Spirit of God there is the start of obedience again, doing things as God knows best.

We also have the ‘peace of God’.  Because of Jesus we stand before God free from accusation, as perfect as God.  Many people are not at peace with themselves.  They struggle with guilt and low self-worth.  The reason is that they do not know their position in Christ.  The story is told of a 24year old Canadian who went to jail for robbing a bank.  His gun went to a museum.  He robbed the bank of $6000 but the gun he used was an antique which was worth $100,000.  If the man had known what he carried in his hand, he wouldn’t have robbed the bank.  Many Christians are searching for peace, not knowing what they already have.  They still believe the lies they heard growing up.  ‘Nobody loves you, you are not good enough’.  But God has forgiven it all completely.  He says ‘I love you dearly, as you are.  Be at peace’. 

There is also ‘peace with one another’.  Like spokes on a wheel, the closer the spokes get to the hub the closer they come together.  The closer we are drawn to Jesus the closer we are drawn together.  Everyone who comes to him, no matter what background, we are all the one people of God.  What  attracts others to Jesus is our unity, being at peace with one another.  Bickering and fighting pushes them away, seeing us as hypocrites.  The fruit of peace is being calm and serene because we know God’s grace.  And because we know one day Jesus, Prince Shalom, will return and bring peace to all the creation.  Then there will be true justice and freedom for all.  There will be no more sickness or pain.  No more disasters or war or death.  For then all things will be whole, in harmony.  Then everything will be as it should be.  There is our hope.  Be at peace.

Leo Douma